BEAUMONT, Texas – Hired in March, Jordan Fee – the program's 13th head coach – will lead his team onto the court Monday at the Neches Federal Credit Union Arena for the 2026-27 regular-season opener. Big Red will host Schreiner University Monday at 7:30 p.m. in the second half of a men's and women's non-conference doubleheader. 
 
The Cardinals are looking to bounce back from a disappointing 2025-26 season that saw them drop eight straight and just miss the conference tournament with a 12-19 (.357) overall record and a 7-15 (.318) mark in conference play. It is an entirely new look for the Red and White, new head coach, staff and 14 new players.
 
Despite being a completely new look, the Cardinals are receiving significant praise from the league in a recent poll of the Southland head coaches and media relations directors. The Cardinals have been picked to finish fourth in 2026-27.
 
Lamar will be taking on a Mountaineer squad that will be in a similar position. Schreiner is looking to build upon an 11-14 season last year that saw them go 8-8 in Southland Conference play.
 
The contest will be just the second all-time meeting between the two schools. The original meeting came during the 1995-96 season with LU posting a 101-45 victory.
 
Monday's contest will be the second of a men's and women's doubleheader to kick off the year. The LU women will take the floor at 5:30 p.m. with the men's contest slated to start 30 minutes following the conclusion of the women's game.
   
A New Era in Cardinals Basketball
Lamar's first-year man Jordan Fee became the 13th head coach in program history when he was hired in March to take over the program. Fee came to LU from Boca Raton, Fla., where he spent the past two seasons as an assistant at Florida Atlantic, including his final season as associate head coach. Fee's prior head coaching experience came at Gannon University where he was the architect of the largest single-season turnaround in NCAA history, regardless of division or gender. Gannon went from a three-win season in 2022-23 to a 32-win campaign in Fee's first year at the helm. 
 
Defending the Nest
Lamar University has made Neches Arena one of the toughest venues for opponents to play over the course of its 40-plus year history but struggled a bit at home last year. The Cardinals are 387-200 (.659) all-time in Neches Arena. Lamar recorded a program-best 15 home wins in the 1987-88 season but were 7-8 (.467) in Neches Arena last season.
 
LU in Season Openers
The Cardinals are 50-20 (.714) all-time in season-opening games. Lamar enters Monday's season-opener having won five consecutive season openers.
 
LU vs. Schreiner
The Cardinals are 1-0 all-time against Schreiner with that lone meeting coming during the 1995-96 season. The Cardinals defeated Schreiner, 101-45 ,in Beaumont.
 
Preseason Respect
Despite coming off a 12-win season and putting together a completely rebuilt roster, the Cardinals have been picked to finish fourth in the Southland according to a recent poll of league head coaches and media relations directors.
 
Rebuilt Roster
In addition to hiring a new staff, Jordan Fee took on the task of rebuilding the Cardinals' roster. The 2026-27 roster consists of 14 new players with no returning letterwinners or squad members. The roster breakdown consists of nine guards and five forwards. The classification breakdown of the 2026-27 team includes five seniors, six juniors, two sophomores and one freshman. The roster is compiled from 10 portal transfer (six NCAA DI transfers), three junior college transfers and a high school signee.